Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02274517 1999-06-09
WO 99/21392 PCT/US97/16149
DYNAMICALLY SELECTIrIG A WIRELESS NETWORK OFFERING A DESIRED SERVICE FEATURE
technical Fjeld of the Invention
This invention relates to communications systems. and more specifically. to a
wireless end-
user device that is dynamically reconfigurable.
Background of the Invention
A wireless telephone communication system typically provides sen~ices to a
geographic area
by dividing the area into many smaller individual radio coverage areas, known
as cells in a cellular
system, each of which is serviced by a transmitter-receiver station. known as
a cell site. The cell
sites are connected through landlines or other communication links, to so-
called mobile telephone
switching o~ces (MTSO's) which are, in turn, connected to the public switched
telephone network
(PSTN). Any given area is ypically serviced by up to two competing wireless
carriers each
providing a wireless system.
As more users rely on wireless systems for delivery of communications
services, many of
those users are increasingly demanding from their wireless carriers at least
the same sophisticated
communications service features that are available from their wireline
networks. In response to this
need of the marketplace, some wireless carriers have enhanced their switching
systerrL to provide
features, such as call waiting, call forwarding and three-way calling. to name
a few. In addition.
interconnection of wireless networks allows wireless subscribers to access
their pre-subscribed
communications services features even when they are roaming in another
wireless communications
carrier's service area. In spite of these developments, a wireless user is
still unable to dynamically
select a communications service feature that is not pre-subscribed by the
user. The unavailability of
non-pre-subscribed service features stems from a variey of factors, not the
least of which is the
inability of a wireless communicator to dynamically select on a call-by-call
basis a wireless
communications carrier or network that offers the desired service feature.
In an attempt to address this problem, some wireless communicator
manufacturers have
included in their telephone sets multiple Number Assignment Modules (NAMs) to
support
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26)
CA 02274517 1999-06-09
WO 99/21392 PCT/US97/16149
- 2 -
subscriptions to services .from multiple carriers. A N.4M is a memory location
within the wireless
communicator in which an installer technician stores an assi2ned telephone
number and a System
Identiftcati~n dumber ISIDt ~~hich uniquely identifies a particular wireless
network which is
primarily intended to provide airtime service for that communicator. .A corn
entional wireless
cotrtmunicator detetTrtines whether at any given time it is located within its
home local service area
by scanning certain frequencies to receive SIDS broadcast by wireless networks
and then comparing
the received SIDS to SIDS stored in the NAM.
V1~'hile the provision of a'~AM alloN~s the communicator to identiy the primaw
network to
which it is pre-subscribed. it does not allow the communicator to select a
network based on the
availability of a desired sewice feature. Rather, the wireless user must
possess a priori knowledge
of which service feature is provided by which network. Hence. it is a
continuing problem for
wireless users to transparently access service features from different
wireless carriers without pre-
subscription to each one of those wireless carriers.
Summaw of the Invention
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for communicating on a
wireless
network providing a selected service. In accordance with the method. a
wireless communicator is
tuned to a first signaling control channel broadcast by a wireless network.
The first channel
identifies one or more services provided over that network. This procedure is
repeated for
successive signaling control channels until a wireless net~~ork providing the
selected service is
identified. Once this has been identified. communication is conducted between
the wireless
communicator and the network.
In an alternative embodiment of the invention. the first channel is broadcast
in a radio
coverage area such as a cell and identifies one or more services provided by a
wireless network in
the radio coverage area. The wireless communicator tunes to the first channel
and then to
successive channels which identify one or more services provided by successive
wireless networks
in the radio coverage area. This procedure is continued until a given channel
is located that
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26)
CA 02274517 1999-06-09
WO 99/21392 PCT/US97/16149
- 3 -
idemifies the selected service. Communication then commences between the
wireless
communicator and the wireless network broadcasting the given channel.
Sriet Description of the DraH ine
the sole Figure show's a simplified block diagram of wireless communicator
constructed in
accordance with the present invention.
Detailed Descri tR ion
The present invention is directed to a wireless communicator that is designed
to dynamically
identify and select from a group of wireless networks (or, alternatively, a
group of subnetworks or
cells) a particular network (or subnetwork or cell) which offers or supports a
communications
service feature requested by a user. The user may select the service feature
for a short time such as
for the duration of a call or for any longer duration. After the particular
wireless network is chosen
by the wireless communicator, the wireless communicator automatically
initiates (i.e., without the
user's intervention) communication with the wireless network that provided the
requested service
for the deiivery of the communications sewice feature. According to one aspect
of the invention.
the communications service fearure requested by the user may be, for example,
a cellular
cotnmunscations service, a Personal Communications Service (PCS), a paging or
Short Message
Service (SMS), or a Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) service. The respective
services may be
provided by a service provider operating over the network via a service
provider gateway associated
therewith. A.ltematively, the services may be provided by the wireless carrier
itself.
In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the wireless communicator
dvnamicallv
identifies and selects a radio coverage area which offers the requested
service feature or features.
Individual radio coverage areas, which may be cells in a cellular network, for
example. are typically
provided with wireless communications via tw:o or more distinct wireless
networks. The radio
coverage area that is selected may be one other than the local area in which
the wireless
communicator is currently operating. In other words, the communicator may
initiate service with a
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 2B)
CA 02274517 1999-06-09
WO 99/21392 PCT/US97/i6149
- 4 -
network that does not ordinarily provide local radio coverage if there is no
available network
normally operating in the local radio coverage area that offers the desired
service feature.
F1G. 1 shows a block diagram of a wireless communicator in accordance with the
present
invention. The wireless communicator includes a transceiver ? 1. antenna ~0,
controller 22, a user
input 26 such as a keypad, and a speaker and microphone 37. The controller
2'_' processes incoming
and outgoing signals and includes a microprocessor 2~. a digital signal
processor 24 and a memory
23. The user input 26 includes a service request selector 38 which allows the
user to specify to the
controller 22 the service or sen~ices that are desired. The controller 2? in
turn directs the transceiver
21 to monitor signaling control channels (discussed in more detail below)
broadcast by various
wireless netv~,~orks so that communication can be established with a network
that is identified as
oflf'ering the desired service or services.
In one embodiment of the invention, a wireless communicator tunes to a first
signaling
control channel over which a wireless network broadcasts carrier-specific
information such as a
System Identification (SID) number and a service menu. The service menu lists
the various service
features available over that network, such as call waiting, dial forwarding,
facsimile transmission,
and three-way calling, for example. The wireless communicator browses the
service menu to assess
the availabiliy of the communications service feature requested by the user
via the service request
selector 28. If the wireless network offers the communications service feature
requested by the
user, the communicator initiates a service request to the wireless network. If
necessary, the wireless
communicator registers onto the wireless network supporting the requested
service. Alternatively,
if the wireless communicator is already registered onto the appropriate
network, the wireless
communicator simply conducts communication with the network so that the
desired service feature
is provided to the user.
If the first wireless network to which the communicator tunes does not offer
the
communications service feature requested by the user, the communicator tunes
to a second control
channel to browse through the menu of the wireless network associated with the
second control
channel. The control channel tuning and menu-browsing process continues until
the wireless
communicator identifies a wireless or wired network that offers the
communications service feature
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26)
CA 02274517 1999-06-09
WO 99/21392 PCT/US97/16149
- 5 -
requested by the user or until the list of networks is exhausted. Thereafter,
a service request is
initiated to the identified neorork for delivery of the communications sewice
feature desired by the
user. As previously mentioned. the identified network may or may not be
operational in the current
local radio coverage area of the communicator. The user may also configure the
device through an
appropriate input to select from among a pluraliy of networks that each have
the requisite service
feature on an additional basis such as cost and speed, for example.
One of ordinan~ skill in the art will recognize that the signaling control
channel defined by
the present invention may be readily incorporated into any of the established
digital cellular
interface standards, including, but not limited to, EL4?IA Standard 553.
"Mobile Station-Land
Station Compatibility Specification," September 1989. Electronic Industries
Association.
Washington, D.C.; EIAIfIA Interim standard IS-54-B. ''Cellular System Dual-
Mode Mobile Station
- Basestation Compatibility Standard." April. 1992, Electronic Industries
Association. V~'ashington,
D.C.; and EIA,?IA Interim Standard IS-136, "Cellular System Dual-:Mode Mobile
Station -
Basestation: Digital Control Channel Compatibility Standard." April, 1995,
Electronic Industries
Association, Washington, D.C. Moreover, the IS-136 standard incorporates a
digital control
channel that may broadcast the SID number and a sen~ice menu.
In one embodiment of the invention, the service request selector 28 is
configured so that the
user can select one of three different operational states. In the first
operational state, upon activation
of the wireless communicator, the communicator automatically begins monitoring
various signaling
control channels and registers onto a wireless network that offers a
preselected service or services.
In a second operational state, the communicator only begins monitoring
signaling control channels
when the user manually selects a desired service or sewice. Finally, in a
third operational state, the
communicator begins monitoring various signaling control channels to conduct
communication
with a network that offers a sewice that the communicator itself identifies as
being required. For
example, if the user connects facsimile equipment through an appropriate input
port of the
communicator, the communicator when operating in this state, will
automatically attempt to identify
and communicate with a wireless network offering facsimile service. In some
embodiments of the
invention the sen-ice request selector 28 may offer all three of these
operational states or.
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26)
CA 02274517 1999-06-09
WO 99/21392 PCT/US97/16149
- 6 -
altemativtlv. any one or mo of these operational states. The communicator also
may be provided
with status indicators such as LEDs. for example, that indicate the current
operational state of the
mode selector. Status indicators may also be provided to identiy the selected
sewice or services
requested by the user.
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26)
